November 18, 2020 – In our effort to empower young people who have experienced violence, exclusion, and marginalization, the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) recently launched a new program in partnership with the State of Baja California’s Prison System to help 60 currently incarcerated young men gain new skills that will help them succeed in their post-prison lives. The new initiative – which will provide two specialized three-month trainings to the young men –seeks to empower them with skills that will help them succeed in their lives, post-incarceration.
With almost 10,000 youths currently in detention facilities, Mexico has a substantial juvenile prison population, highlighting the deeper challenges faced by this age group and their communities at large. Even as they prepare for their lives post-prison, these young people often lack access to opportunities. In many cases, they have lost months and years of education or vocational training. Above all, many of them lack the skills needed to make peace with others and with themselves. This will often mean that the causes that led to their incarceration are still there when they leave the system, resulting in extremely high rates of recidivism. In fact, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates the country’s recidivism rate to be as high as 95 percent. However, as WPDI has experienced, giving young people skills – especially vocational ones – can often be a gamechanger, leading not only to increased chances at peace and resilience within individuals but within communities as well.
With that in mind, WPDI partnered with Baja California’s Prison System to train 60 young men currently detained within the state’s three youth detention centers. Over a 12-week period, we will conduct basic-level online trainings in Conflict Resolution Education and Business & Entrepreneurship, which will help the youths work on themselves to find inner peace, be better equipped to manage situations concerning violence and conflict, improve their communication skills, and navigate opportunities. WPDI will prepare specially tailored lessons and ask the youths to complete assignments. After the three-month trainings are complete, the young men will sit for final exams and those who pass will be awarded certificates. While they are undergoing these trainings, the youths will have access to our expert trainers, who will guide them throughout their learning experience. It is also our hope that, as they leave prison, many of these youths will join our regular programs, including vocational trainings in Information & Communications Technology, that will further equip them with skills that they can mobilize to make the most of their freedom.
In announcing the new partnership, Salvador Morales Riubi, the State Commissioner for Baja California’s Prison System, said that “This new program will help the boys see a new perspective. I am sure that they will make the most of this opportunity.” With the trainings scheduled to begin this month, WPDI is equally enthusiastic about having the chance to help the 60 young men create new opportunities for themselves, others, and their communities.